Call For The Grim Reaper
by BeatOneHeart
Summary: The Grim Reaper ascends upon the ones who call him, and shreds the blood of the ones who face him, though escapes the ones who attempt to seize him. [AU: crimes, detectives, ...] [Rating M: violence, language, adult themes ...] [Character information changes with the chapters]
1. I The Deal

**CALL FOR THE**

 **GRIM REAPER**

* * *

 ** _I_**

 _ **The Deal.**_

* * *

The carceral corridors were soggy, moist and filthy. The involved aisle was located on the third floor below ground of the responsible police station. Hence the unmanned prison jails were reserved for prospective inmates, whose detention periods lasted for several decades, at least. It saved the personnel work and time of moving detainees from jail to jail. Besides, no one wanted to step foot in this place but rats, anyways. The third floor was the dirty secret of the police station. The taboo topic among the staff.

The novice of the staff attempted to keep a neutral expression with intensely volition to not to turn his nose up in disgust. The corridor smelled like dried sweat, urine and other excrements he couldn´t identify. It was no wonder that his older colleagues patted his back while giving him insidious smiles after the novice reported them proudly on the special task he was given.

 _Bastards_ , he thought _._

The ground under his shoes was slippery. About every thirty metres did he have to halt to unlock the high mesh doors that divided the corridor into smaller parts. After that, he would go through, turn around and lock the door to continue his way to the next mesh doors. In between those doors the jails were lined up periodically. They formed a zig-zag-pattern, since two cells on each side never faced each other. It prevented the inmates making contacts. It did not mean that the measure was necessary at the moment. The jail cells weren´t occupied, anyways.

Except for one.

A feeling of embarrassing relief came over the novice when he finally caught sight of the end of the aisle. It was hard to see, because the cellar lights created only dim lights or were defective for the most part. In the originating gleam of light everything seemed grey. Hollywood would have been proud of owning such a place.

He could have sworn he picked up squeaking rat-sounds when the novice locked the last mesh door of the corridor. Either they greeted him or tried to shoo him away. He struggled to decide which thought of those two sounded more unpleasant. As he approached the steel doors of the jail – which were the old type with rails closely strung to each other thus allowing the prisoners and outsiders to look through between them – he asked himself who brought this one his daily food. _If_ he was brought food _daily_.

The novice stopped for a short breath before taking a cautious step forward to peer inside by the rails.

It was the very first time that he encountered a dangerous criminal.

The novice stood at the margin by the rails. Only his head was standing sidewise when he checked the inside of the cell, his front faced the end-wall of the corridor. The inside was poorly arranged but that was nothing new. The novice´s curious and analysing look wandered from the cold and naked rails to the right corner in the back. There stood a less hygienic looking toilet, next to it hung a just as less hygienic looking wash basin. A grey plate hanging over the basin could be seen. It must have been an old mirror attached a long time ago. Its function was put off by the thick dust slice covering it.

There was nothing else to see on the right side of the cell. Reluctantly did the novice let his eyes wander to the left. In the left corner stood a primitive metal bed with a very thin mattress. A just as very thin blanket and a small pillow were neatly set on the left side of the bed, which was directed to the left wall. On the right side of the bed sat the reason to why the novice bothered to stroll down to this human-abandoned place.

Despite the long detention in this disgusting and barely eight square metres built cell, his physical condition was better beyond the relative one – being a prisoner. His shoulders were wide and stiff. To the amazement of the novice was the shirt he wore neither cracked nor pestered. Only the longstanding accumulated filth left dirty spots on his shirt. The same could be said about his trousers. His trained chest and abdominal muscles were clear to be seen through his unbuttoned shirt, since he didn't bother to wear an undershirt. Also, he didn´t own any shoes, at least the novice couldn´t find any. Despite his older age – visible through his skin wrinkles – his shoulder-length hair was jet-black. They were surprisingly well groomed. His face was clean-shaven.

Keeping a bent over position, he leaned his chin on his fisted hands. His elbows were rested on his upper legs. They were forming a perfect ninety-degree angle with his lower legs, making his naked feet touch the ground, flat and steady. With this composition and his eyelids closed in concentration, did he resemble a meditating boxer.

There was no better word than _dangerous_ to describe this person.

However, the picture which was presented to the novice didn´t _fit together_. It wasn´t describable, nor understandable. It was like someone forced the puzzle-pieces of this picture to fit together. In the end, there was this view left, but the puzzle pieces had bends, cracks and were deformed nastily. They _just didn´t fit_. They were forced to hold their places and not to disobey. It must have felt painful for them. Yes, the word _painful_ fit in this picture of the man next to dangerous, perfectly.

The novice was sure that if he ranked up and got the authorization, he would study the record of this person, thoroughly. Just out of curiosity.

"I´ve got good news for you", the novice said after a long silence. "You´re going to be set free tomorrow."

The novice waited for an answer, longer than necessary. But there was none. Even after two long minutes of patient silence. He spoke up again. This time, though, his voice sounded louder than before.

"I was sent here to tell you that. You´re granted to pack your things together, today." The novice felt stupid. The man obviously didn´t own anything more than the rags of clothes that clung to his skin. "You should also clean your cell today. It must be left in an appropriate state for future inmates who come here." The novice made a short, uncertain pause. He didn´t believe his own words. "Tomorrow morning at about eight am a colleague of mine will accompany you to the canteen for breakfast. After that, you can take a shower. Following that, you´ll have to sign a few documents and then you can greet your relatives in the waiting room for visitors." All the while the novice talked, the prisoner didn´t move once for only a centimetre. He looked like he couldn´t care any less that he will leave this hell-hole or if the world will end tomorrow.

The novice turned so he faced him with his full body now.

"Have you understood me? A nod is all enough." No reaction. " _Can_ you understand me?" Nothing, again.

"You´re dead or what?", the novice joked with a slightly irritated voice. "Hey, man, at least tell me who I should call so someone can take you from here."

The man in the cell seemed unconcerned. He was motionless, like a rock. The novice fisted his hands. The other police men made fun of him well enough today, let alone sent him here in the first place. The novice wouldn´t accept another shitty treatment by this _criminal_.

"Hey, asshole!", the novice yelled way louder than before. Down there no one could hear him, anyway. Even if the rules said that police always had to treat criminals with respect, no matter the situation. It didn´t matter if the person was a killer or a pickpocket.

"I´ve went all the way down to this hell-hole to tell you that you can drag your damn ass out of here!" As there was still no reaction coming from the man in front of him, the novice began hitting the steel rails with his right fist. He yelled louder. "Do you hear me, you little piece of shit?!"

"Hn. Now you sound like a real cop."

The novice flinched and stiffened as he heard the voice of the prisoner for the first time.

The voice of the man sounded monotone and rough from all the lack of use in the last years. Also, he struggled to find the face muscles which produced the right sounds. He would have sounded weak and wimpy, if not for his strong, deep baritone. The fact of the matter is, this new situation made the novice more uncomfortable. The tone of the man wasn´t just intimidating, but also extremely serious. He was taking no joke. It didn´t matter how motionless the man sat there, the novice had to remember that this man was a dangerous criminal. They didn´t put him into the farthest corner of the police station for no reason.

The novice pulled himself together from his trance and stood straight and steady with a pulled out chest. "What do you want to know about being a police man? You were a criminal your whole life."

The man snorted, like a bull that prepared to attack the muleta of a matador. The novice himself was surprised how well this comparison fit him. Secretly, the novice was sure, that he didn´t want to be the matador _or_ the muleta in this bull fight.

"A lifelong criminal …", the man murmured, more to himself than to the novice. The novice, though, didn´t like the amusement in the man´s whisper. _Bastard. Delighting in his evil reputation. They should have given him lifelong detention. Who knows what he will wreak after tomorrow._ But the novice didn´t have an influencing hand in this game. But should he come to know that this man will become relapsing, the novice would drag him back to prison with his own hands.

"Now give me a name already, so I can ask that person to come here to get you." This time it wasn´t a question, but an order.

The prisoner kept silent for a few moments. "I don´t have anyone."

The novice eyed the man for s short time, then grunted amused. "Don´t come the innocent to me. You have to have someone somewhere. Family, friends, business partners, colleagues. A dog?" The novice grinned at his own joke.

"If you intend to do something for me", the man began. His voice became clearer, the more he talked. "Then get me some old clothes and make sure that I´ll catch the next train for Konoha tomorrow."

The novice couldn´t believe the complacency of the man in front of him. Who did he think was he? What kind of place this was? A playground? Well, he decided to play with the wrong children.

"Bullshit. You´ll need to stay here for the coming three months, here in Oto. To be guarded. At least three months."

"I have my ways to get out of here."

"And what if, let´s say, I´ll snitch on you and tell my supervisor?"

"You won´t do that."

"Why not?"

"Because we´ll make a deal."

"Wha-"

The prisoner opened his eyes to look directly in the eyes of the novice. They were plain-black, just as his hair. His eyes were deep. And _knowing_.

Suddenly, he stood up and moved with slow, steady and august steps to the novice, like a lion in his very own cave. The novice retreated a step back, for safety. Cold sweat spread over his whole body. The increasing pulse of his heartbeat rumbled louder in his ears, which dulled the prisoner´s voice. However, the novice heard him clearly, since the prisoner owned a strange, penetrating undertone. Like the deep rumble coming from a strong throat of a lion.

The prisoner talked slowly and clearly, but not with a louder voice than he needed for the novice to hear and understand. But the novice didn´t fear his voice. He was scared of his _seeing_ eyes. The novice felt naked in front of them, like an open book. There was nothing as terrifying as to know that your enemy knew _everything_ about you and not vice versa.

"Every single day you work here, your so-called colleagues slag you. They offend you, pat your back with the same force as if they were hitting you. They insult your family, your sister, your mother. They don´t welcome you here because you are a loser to them. A good-for-nothing. A shit-ass. A boot-licker. The wannabe _newbie_."

The dark man arrived in the middle of the cell. A vast amount of healed scars could be seen on his chest and abdomen now, along with bumps and other old injuries through the dim light. His look was grim as if he was angry at the whole universe. The same thing could be said about the novice´s face. His hands turned to fists, his expression strained and stiff in fury.

"It happens although you work your ass off. Every damn day. While the others sit on their asses all day, eating donuts like the pigs they are and let you do their dirty jobs. That´s why you´re here. No one wanted to come down here, that´s why they sent you." The prisoner stood directly in front of the novice, clutching at the rails with his bear hands. Suddenly, his head collided with the rails. His face was divided in two by a rail with two other ones next to his eyes. He bent down a little to hold his eyes at the same level as those of the novice. Then he suddenly opened his eyes, fast. The novice flinched at this sight.

"Am I right?"

The novice failed to do anything else than nodding in fear and hate. He hated himself for that. He hated everything and everyone at the moment. The prisoner grinned. It looked terrible.

"Good. Here´s the deal. You´ll book the next train to Konoha that leaves off at about midnight time. Under the name of Taka Hebi. Then you´ll meet me at the bus station by the big casino at exactly nineteen pm. I´ll hand a wanted criminal over to you there. If you bring him to your supervisor, you´ll rank up. I´ll take the train to Konoha and you won´t waste your time licking asses. No one will know of this. Deal?"

The novice needed some thinking time before answering. His whole body trembled in shock. "You … You´re insane. This is crazy! They will know that you helped me. Someone will see us together. Then I´ll go to jail, too. If you don´t … kill me before that." His voice sounded plainly weak, cracked and resembled barely a whisper. He didn´t like it at all. He was a police man, damnit! And there stood thick, hard steel rails between them!

"Tch." The prisoner retreated his head off the rails and stood straight, but he didn´t let go of them. He was taller than the novice, a little under two metres. The novice felt only tinier, weaker then before.

"You´re not worth the kill. Also, the cops will get suspicious if they find your corpse, because we met here one day before. The trouble would be mine then." He held his hand beyond the rails in a gesture that indicated a handshake.

"Deal?" The voice of the prisoner sounded demanding, mandatory.

The novice weighed the possibilities. If he was obedient to the stranger, his whole effort in his apprenticeship wouldn´t have any meaning. If he collaborated with the criminal, he would become his accomplice, worse, a criminal himself. His pride and honour as a police man wouldn´t allow him to do it.

But still …

It wasn´t a bad offer. The man did his stretch in prison anyways, and he wouldn´t do anything stupid that would put him in this jail again. Or in one of Konoha´s, whatever he is looking for there. Furthermore, some other criminal would settle down here, a further triumph of justice. It would help him – like the prisoner already said – to rank up, too…

Still, he was a dangerous criminal … He couldn´t bring himself to work with such a devil, could he? But …. _As a police man?_

"I see. The offer isn´t enough."

The man closed his eyes and as he opened them again, he suddenly pulled forward with his hand and put a stranglehold on the novice. He pulled him up while tightening his hold. He was cautious enough to let pieces of the novice´s collar slip in between his hand and the police man´s throat to prevent any marks to pop up. The novice fidgeted and struggled in the air, trying to catch a breath and freeing his throat from the man´s hold helplessly, his eyes being at the same level as with the one´s of the man in front of him.

"If you don´t do as I command", the prisoner continued. His voice lacked any glamour of kindness. It only sounded serious. And bitter. "I´ll kill you after a maximum of five months. If not before." He _whispered_ his threats from here. They didn´t sound less dangerous then, quite the opposite. "I´ll make you look so bad that everything you can feel is pain. In your whole body. I´ll crush you, cut you, rip a few things out of you, here and there." The prisoner pulled the head of the novice closer to the rails so that they touched. "Then I´ll feed animals with you." The novice began to whimper and grunt. "Rats. _Alive._ "

The novice nodded lightly. As the prisoner didn´t let go, the nodding became vehement, making the novice´s forehead banging the rails. Before he could hurt himself for injuries to be seen, the prisoner let him fall to the ground.

"Tell your friends. I´ll skip breakfast tomorrow. I don´t want paparazzi here, anyone. That´s why I´ll be out early. And the most important of all…" The prisoner kneeled down to look directly at the half lying form of the novice. He held his throat and tried to maintain his breathing. "The train to Konoha. About midnight. Taka Hebi." The prisoner said the name again, slowly. He wanted the novice to remember correctly. But he knew he would do anyway. The memories in fear were the ones you remembered best. "Meet me at nineteen pm. At the bus station by the big casino. Don´t forget to bring some dark clothes for me, black. And for you. We´ll have business tomorrow."

The novice looked at the prisoner with teary eyes while nodding all the time, even after the prisoner stopped talking. Fear was written on his face. He only wanted to go away, away away!

The prisoner spared him a last, cold glance. "Deal. Now piss off", he hissed.

And the novice ran. All the way running to the stairs, his timid, erratic breathing and groaning could be heard. He jolted a few times, when he heard some rat sounds. As the prisoner heard a loud banging sound, he knew the novice closed the last steel door of the corridor.

 _Damned greenhorn._

The prisoner stood up, stretched his arms and cracked his neck. He sat in the same meditating position when the novice first saw him. He sat there like that every day. For hours. Staying silent. Thinking.

Exactly twenty years before, minus a few hours, he was brought here. He was convicted by a thoroughly corrupted court. They called him a dangerous criminal. Murderer. Killer. Traitor. Liar. He didn´t have any chance to defend himself, but he still did.

Through the first five years, he tried to fight against this allegations. He believed then, that he would win. When he was younger, he had a determination of steel. He hoped.

The next five years, he spent surviving, fighting. There were no ambitions left. The only relevant essence for him, was to stay alive. He learned in these five years what it really meant to feel lonely. To have no one, except for yourself.

In the past ten years, he waited for the grim reaper. He was ten years too late, already. He finished his life, and he was sure that the grim reaper was his fate. He would call him. And he would come.

But he didn´t.

Twenty years passed. The grim reaper hasn´t come, although he was called many times. Not only by one prisoner. By all the other prisoners, too, who knew him like this one did.

He would continue calling for him. Even after leaving prison. Not only that. He would look for him. Search for him. He had the chance to, once he got out of here.

And if he called for him and he came. Or he found him.

Then he would take his revenge.

* * *

 _ **F I N.**_

* * *

 _Well, dear friends. Heh. I feel like I finished a masterpiece._

 _So, this comes out when I first write in a native language and translate it in English. I should have done that with my other fics as well. I feel dumb. Also, if you find any grammar or spelling mistakes, anything, please feel free to contact me._

 _Let this be a teaser for a story to come. I have the story line planned, but there are missing a lot of branches. But I´m going to tend to them. Especially after I finished FACOC. (But before that I really need to try to prevent myself from getting side tracked, because I need to learn for exams *cries*)_

 _It may take a while until I will update again. Like, a long while. But I´ll come back if fate will allow me._

 _Until then,_

 _Beat._


	2. II Late Summer Storm

**CALL FOR**

 **THE** **GRIM REAPER**

* * *

 _ **II**_

 _ **Late Summer Storm.**_

* * *

Long before the three police men arrived, he was wide awake. Namely, neither a clock nor window to see moon or sun through existed in his jail cell, but Sasuke didn´t need those things to know that they were late. It was only naturally. Who cared if a detainee was released one hour sooner or later? Exactly that´s why Sasuke forwent breakfast or other unnecessary wastes of time. Should the twelth bell struck, this would be a full house. Only by then the police men started with the real work since documents were submitted, mails came in and the interview time with the civil people started. All of these held first priority, delaying the release of the prisoner. He couldn´t afford that.

The police men complained about the sickening condition of the corridor while approaching their destination. Their steps sounded dull, flat and light-footed at the same time. Sasuke reckoned that they were three people. One higher officer who must have been in office for at least thirty years for his elephant steps to be heard in the last corner of the aisle with the massive fatness he carried. He also had the most share of conversation, talking about the police station and the workers as if the place was his. Sometimes, one police man next to him answered in the most politest of ways he could master. His steps sounded normal, but a little tired, as if he let his whole foot fall flat to the ground just before they touched it. His voice sounded self-conscious, but forced. The third almost non-existent pair of feet were hard to sense. They were dominated by the others, as if they slipped behind them. They had to belong to a newbie like yesterday or a female, probably. Save for the fact that no woman was dumb enough to work here in this hell-hole among idiots who thought of themselves as higher people. Women had a much too clear and cunning mind to fall for that, a much too good eyesight to distinguish what served them advantages or disadvantages. Sasuke´s own experience taught him that.

Indeed, they looked just as the typical stereotypes Sasuke imagined. One fat officer, an older employee next to him and last but not least, a newbie who looked wild and afraid like Bambi when he saw a bear. Sasuke sat in a comfortable way on his old bed. As the eyes met each other, everyone fell silent. Silence, used by everyone to rest in their own minds.

But the silence couldn´t be kept for a long time.

"Sasuke Uchiha", the oldest police man said. His name was A. Buta. That´s what his nameplate said.

 _How fitting_ , the prisoner thought by himself. The name of the middle one was Y. Tenzo. The newbie didn´t own a nameplate, like the novice yesterday. It showed to little extent how new recruits were treated here. "A lucky day for ya. Today, our dear Uchiha´s to be released and can finally feel the sun on his ugly-"

"Let´s skip the big talk and get it over with", Sasuke intervened motionless, standing up.

Buta´s face reddened. He tried to stand straight, pushing his abdomen to the front. The buttons on his uniform looked like they just waited for the right moment to jump off. Buta gestured for the men beside him to get to work. "What makes you hurry so much?", Buta asked the prisoner. Tenzo showed for Sasuke to approach the rails, holding handcuffs. "Turn around and hold your hands out to me from behind. Keep them close to each other." Sasuke did as he was told, but ignored Buta´s question.

"What are you doing, standing there like a dumb mule? Help him!", Buta took his Anger out on the young man. The said novice winced suddenly, being fully concentrated on the prisoner. He took a step forward and held out his hands shyly. He waited for an order by Tenzo, but the man finished swiftly. "Stay like this and don´t turn around. The shackles are next." Tenzo wanted to continue explaining, but Sasuke closed the distance between his feet already. Instead, Tenzo told the novice to try out this task. Said man moved very slowly, and took the shackles from Tenzo´s hands, with his own hands shaking. When he knelt down, he noticed that he had difficulty holding his balance, and decided to sit on his knees. He pushed his hands forward by the rails, entering the cell with his limbs. The shackles jingled when they touched the cold metal of the rails. The novice attempted to attach the shackles onto the legs of the prisoner. The shackles almost fell to the ground several times in the process.

"If you keep doing it like that", Sasuke said without turning his head around. It was bend down. He was watching the man, obviously. "That thing will slip out of your hands soon. I can feel your sweat on my ankles." The novice jerked and coughed. His throat felt dry, suddenly. Buta shook his head and gave a few not quite nice remarks. Tenzo took a step, ready to help, but Sasuke interfered.

"Start with the right leg. Hold the separate circle pieces on the same level lightly over my ankles, but horizontal, with the opening showing in your direction. It helps you seeing if they snapped into place after." The young novice froze in his movements, startled, but nodded lightly and concentrated on the things Sasuke told him. His voice wasn´t commanding and bantering like the one of his supervisor. It was serious and honest. And, surprisingly, relaxing.

Buta and Tenzo observed the unfolding scene in front of them. Something in Sasuke´s voice kept them from chiming in. "That´s enough. Now let the pieces snap tightly. If you can slip your little finger in between the shackles and my leg, it´s attached perfectly." The novice tested it. "Now lock them and do the same with the left leg."

After the novice finished his task, Sasuke turned around and looked him directly in the eyes. Said man gulped and held the look. Without saying something, Sasuke turned to Tenzo, expectantly. Tenzo nodded and pulled the keys of the cell out of his pocket.

* * *

The clock in the room Sasuke was sitting in showed that time was close to ten am. The room was something near to a lounge for detainees. Not very large, but with a lot of chairs, like a waiting room. Sasuke sat exactly opposite to the closed and locked up metal door. The once white walls were grey and yellow with all the dirt and cigarette smoke. The condition of the seats weren´t better.

They made him wait amlost a full hour. Sasuke would have sighed, but that was a sign of weakness for him. He knew he was watched by hidden cameras which were placed in the ventilation shafts under the ceiling. That´s why he sat straight all the while without moving an inch, except for his eyes blinking.

Before he was brought here, he spent about ten minutes of discussion with Buta about not attending breakfast. The officer went red and violet and stomped away after he ordered Tenzo to give the Uchiha an especially hot shower. Tenzo guided Sasuke to the shower cabins, together with another police man. Sasuke took a very long time to wash away all the dirt that accumulated on his body. He was satisfied about the fact that he had a cell for himself, afterwards. It saved him the worry of catching fleas by other prisoners. To not to wear his old and ragged clothes again, he made them wet, thus giving Tenzo the trouble to get him new ones. Sasuke disbelieved them being new, though, but it was an update. There was a pair of shoes as well, after all. Next, he was brought to the room at about nine am, the one he sat in, now, at about ten am.

Finally, he heard footsteps from behind the door. It was opened, and behind it Buta and Tenzo showed themselves. There was no novice around, this time.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the time´s come", Buta said with a little bit of entertaining skills. He must have cooled down after the outburst from before Sasuke´s shower. Sasuke thought that he might have made a fat breakfast after that. "Tenzo, let our dear Uchiha sign his files."

Tenzo approached Sasuke with a clipboard under his arm and stopped in front of Sasuke. He held the board out to him and explained him all the relevant things about the documents. It was unnecessary talking. Sasuke didn´t listen, really, but solemnly nodded his head. After he finally could sign, he was freed of his cuffs. Meanwhile, Buta sat down and munched on a few donuts.

Sasuke stood up and Tenzo asked his supervisor if everything was ready. Buta nodded and gestured for the men to keep on going. He intended to spend his time here with his donuts, it seemed. When Sasuke bypassed Buta, the latter spoke up, spitting donut crumbs to the ground. "Enjoy your short free time, Uchiha. I wonder how long it´ll take until we´ll have found your corpse."

Sasuke smirked at Buta from the side and chuckled lightly. It sounded like the roaring of a lion.

"Soon enough."

As Sasuke left the room after his statement, Buta looked after him for a few seconds, then shrugged his shoulders and took another bite from his donut in hand.

* * *

Sasuke and Tenzo arrived at the last stop Sasuke had to made. The office with his objects of value.

A woman by the counter prepared his things in a shoe box. A few things which Sasuke carried the day he was brought here for custody were inside. They all looked as old as they really were. His wallet (which was empty), a pen, a little note book, a handkerchief and a golden ring. At the sight of the last item did his heart pound a little stronger, once.

There were new things as well. A document of probation with his full name and current photograph they took last week for identification, a money draft and a few coupons for passport photos and such. Furthermore, a certificate of membership for residency in a house for released detainees was added. The woman by the counter told him he could rent a room for free there until his rehabilitation was fulfilled. Of course, she didn´t use that word to describe him his current social status, but he got the message. He creased the papers, before putting them in his wallet. The rest he shoved deep into his pockets. The golden ring, though, he observed, holding it a little longer in his palm. Then he put it in his chest pocket. "Your wife must have missed you a lot", the woman said. Probably to put him into better spirits. _Debatable_ , Sasuke answered with his thoughts.

Sasuke proceeded to leave the station, when he stopped shortly in front of the ´wanted-board´. He let his gaze wander over the many faces and names of the wanted – very fast to not to draw attention – and continued walking with sure steps. As he finally walked outside, he blinked many times for his eyes needed to adjust to the new level of light. Even his skin seemed to tingle under the long-forgotten but deeply longed sunlight, dancing over it. But Sasuke liked the air most. It wasn´t extraordinary clean because of the city smog. However, it was much better than the stink of excrements in his jail he was sitting in about two hours ago.

Sasuke always wondered how those detainees felt when he accompanied them outside. Now he knew.

Sasuke slowly climbed down the stairs that lead him to the street, deep in his own thoughts. The coupons and draft would serve enough money to buy him fast food, clothing, a bag and a few passport photographs. Maybe even a package of cigarettes. He needed nothing more. If he wasn'´t watched, that is.

The man needed to be careful. He had to seem as normal as a person who just got out of jail. On top of all, as someone who just got out of jail without breakfast.

And Sasuke did exactly that. First, he bought some cigarettes and something to eat from a sordid fast food stand in a just as sordid street. Among the things that were counted as ´rehabilitation´ there was also the fact that those people avoided crowded places. That´s why Sasuke preferred the less crowded streets. Indeed, he himself didn´t feel well when he strolled by people. He felt like he was observed or watched, or like he was pushed into corners by them. All the time did he have this feeling. The real cause might or might not have been that he was indeed watched by some civilian-clothed police men that followed him around like some young chickens their mother.

After he ate something and bought some cheap clothing and a bag from a second hand shop, he started his way to the house for the newly released. He enrolled there and entered his room he shared with two other men who weren´t present at the moment. Sasuke changed his clothes and waited. And observed his watchers obliviously by the windows. And smoked. And waited.

* * *

Shortly before six pm Sasuke casually followed the street that lead him to his new residency a few hours ago. It was then that he found the brothel hidden in an alley.

Sasuke entered it and climbed up the stairs. His followers frowned, obviously disturbed by that, and continued passing the alley.

When Sasuke arrived upstairs, he paid the woman by the reception for her … actual vocation and keeping silent for later and left the brothel back doors. While doing that, he changed his clothes with the ones he brought in his bag. With that, he inter alia replaced his noticeable coat and green shoes he bought from the second hand shop. His ´new clothes´ Sasuke got from the cabin in the house for former detainees out of a box for ´lost things´. All the while he also did his best to ignore the sultry looks of the prostitutes that took a smoke outside.

When he entered the backyard, it was Sasuke´s turn to frown in disgust. The stinking trash splayed all around the backyard reminded him of his old jail cell. The loud moans from the rooms inside didn´t do it any better.

Satisfied about buying a pair of gloves today, Sasuke climbed up a two-storied house and began jumping from roof to roof over the city to find his destination.

* * *

He saw the cellar door already, when he jumped off a window into the backyard. The place was cleverly picked, since the buildings around shielded the backyard with their shadows. Sasuke knocked on the cellar door, trying to ignore the stink.

There was a split on the door for looking through that opened a little. A yellow eye behind it observed a spot in front of him, then shot up. Either the man beside the door was very short, or the split was cut too low.

"Who are you?", asked the man behind the door. His voice sounded like the one of a young man, who still needed to get used to his new height but had a lot of life experience. Cautious and unsecure, but deep and determined together.

"I need an ID and passport."

The young man hesitated a little, then closed the split and tinkled with keys behind the door. It opened. Sasuke attempted to enter when the young man – he indeed looked like he was in his early twenties – held a gun in Sasuke´s direction.

"Come inside, without making a scene. Put your hands on the wall and stretch your arms. Let me examine you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but oblidged. Although the young man found nothing disturbung, he still aimed at Sasuke with his gun.

"ID and passport, you say?"

Sasuke nodded, seriously.

"Who told you to get them here?"

"Before you some old …", Sasuke paused there. It wasn´t much of a clever thought to tell the man in front of him that Sasuke visited this place a few times before. When he beat the former owner of this place black and blue to get out information of him about the few customers he had. The young man frowned and watched Sasuke more closely from head to toe. "… acquaintance of mine worked here. He owned this place actually. His name was Shozoga." _At least he always told us so._

"That´s true." The man eyed him again. "You look like you came out of jail just today."

"Just this morning", Sasuke corrected him.

The young man nodded. "Your skin looks unnaturally pale. You should change that." He approached Sasuke. "Show me your certificate of probation and your coupons."

Sasuke held his bag up. "You wanna look inside or shoud I take them out?" He didn´t want for the young man to panic when Sasuke tried to pull something out of his bag. "Give it to me", the man said. He took the bag from Sasuke. It was then that Sasuke sensed a strangely strong smell of mint radiating from the man. "In my wallet", Sasuke said. The young man found it and observed the papers in it. He recognized them and analysed the probation certificate. It was then that his pupils widened, which Sasuke noticed immediately. The young man let the bag fall and held onto his gun with both his hands. This time, he aimed for Sasuke´s head.

"What is someone _like you_ doing here?!"

Sasuke held up his hands. "Calm down, boy. Do you think I still belong to them after twenty years of detention?"

The young man looked thoughtful. He spoke up. "Why do you need those things so urgently?"

"Because I need to get out of here."

As the man still didn´t lose his hold on the gun, Sasuke tried to talk him into believing. "Listen", Sasuke said. "You showed me that you´re well informed. Then you should know who _really_ put me into jail, right? The whole criminal underground should know that by now. Even the amateurs who are little longer in business." The young man didn´t say anything to the small insult. "But you look like you know your business." The young man nodded, this time a little proud. "Exactly that´s why you should understand _why_ I need those papers so fast to leave this place."

The young man watched Sasuke, eyes wide. He didn´t believe his ears. "Do you … Do you really intend to do it?"

"Of course", Sasuke answered, over confidently. The young man looked at him disbelievingly, but didn´t comment on that. He only shrugged and gestured Sasuke to follow him to the old photo machine which looked like it could crumble into pieces any time. "Sit down", he said and showed to the seat opposite the machine. Sasuke shook his head. "Not with this face. Also, we need to discuss the costs first."

The young man nodded knowingly. "I thought so, too."

* * *

"The job´ll be done in two hours."

"I´ll be here in rather three to four hours."

"Better. There´ll be less people coming around then."

Sasuke watched the young man more closely. "You´re smart. You could achieve more than this little … studio."

The young man took a paper out and wrote something on it, ignoring what Sasuke told him. Then he gave it to Sasuke. "Here. Write down your choices of information." Sasuke took the paper and pen and did as he was told, About three minutes later he gave them back. The young man looked it through. He raised one eyebrow, not once leaving the sight of the paper.

"Risky birthdate", he said.

Sasuke smirked for a second. _Really. Clever boy._ They held each other´s gaze for a moment until Sasuke spoke up."If that is all, I´ll take my leave."

The young boy nodded. He was eager to ask questions, but knew better to swallow them down his throat. He only heard rumors about this man, but nothing oft them held anything good. That man rieked of danger and trouble. His whole appearance. His walk, his eyes, his voice and his rhetoric. Everything. His intention, though, was on top of it all.

 _…_ _Konoha, huh._

* * *

 _"…_ _-as released today at the south-east police department of the city. He had served the secret service by the police for years. But according to the judicial report and the press release by the late chief, Jiraiya Kaeru, the offender was involved in an assassination about twenty years ago concer- …"_

In front of the huge LED-flat screens, which were attached to the lower halves of the towers, heavy rain hit everything that it could reach, everything that was helplessly open to its mercy. Lightnings sneaked by thousands, millions of raindrops to struck the ground like lashes in anger and fury, as if they were punishing the city. Only the wind wasn´t around, hiding away from the spectacle.

 _"…_ _-to the weather report. This late evening it is recommended not to step on the streets if not for urgent reasons. A strong storm is approaching the city and will last for several hours, until about midnight. Especially driving is- …."_

To cut a long story short, it was the perfect night to feel most comfortable for criminal minds.

* * *

 ** _F I N._**

* * *

 _So, second chap is up. Hope you enjoyed. The draft for the third is completed, too, which contains action scenes. I have bit of trouble translating them so it will take a while to update, sorry._

 _ilovefinn924: We´ll see about that, who the novice is, that is. It will be revealed in the next chap, that´s fore sure hehe._

 _Thanks for the interest to you all!_

 _Till then,_

 _Beat._


	3. III Blood, Sweat and Spit

**CALL FOR**

 **THE GRIM REAPER**

* * *

 _ **III**_

 _ **Blood, Sweat and Spit.**_

* * *

 _"…_ _-as released today at the south-east police department of the city. He had served the secret service by the police for years. However, according to the judicial report and press release by late chief, Jiraiya Kaeru, the offender was involved in an assassination about twenty years ago concer- …"_

In front of huge LED-flat screens, which were attached to the lower halves of the towers, heavy rain hit everything that was within its reach, everything that was helplessly abandoned to its mercy. Lightnings sneaked by thousands, millions of raindrops to struck the ground like lashes in rage and fury, as if they were punishing the city. Only the wind wasn´t around, hiding away from the macabre spectacle.

 _"…_ _-to the weather report. This evening it is recommended not to leave your home if not for urgent reasons. A strong storm is approaching the city and will last for several hours, until about midnight. Especially driving is- …."_

To cut a long story short, it was the perfect night to feel most congenial for criminal minds.

* * *

The novice trudged through unfamiliar streets. Previously, he collected information on the route and area via internet, thus was he all in all prepared for the things to come. Still, he had an unpleasant feeling in his gut. The stress-pills and his last two cigarettes didn´t do it any better. He would have loved to take another one, but the heavy rain would soak through it before he could take a smoke. _If_ they were not all wet already.

The overall atmosphere was distressing and rieking of trouble. Especially the novice himself. The reason might or might not have been the intention for which he came here.

The area resembled a typical ghetto of sorts. Three and four-storey blocks limited the streets. Windows were smashed, only few rooms were lighted. And if they were, one could hear shouting and yelling from the insides, desperate moans and sobs, breaking and shattering glasses of beer bottles. The buildings longed for repainting, looking ancient and crippled, waiting to be pulled down. The roads didn´t bring forth preferable conditions, either.

They were dirty and filthy thanks to the trash that lay all around, particularly because of the many cigarettes. Side alleys for chain smokers.

 _How much am I longing for a smoke right now.._.

After passing a side street, the novice caught sight of the involved main road. Although it being the main street, it was dead. The novice beheld no living soul, far and wide. He was the only one on the wide, large and never-ending street.

On the opposite roadside, light of a lantern flickered in the darkness, next to a bus station. To the relief of the novice, a glass roof was attached over the station, offering him protection against the heavy rain. He immediately rushed to stand beneath it. Not that he wasn´t all soaked through already. Regardless, it offered him little feels of illusory secureness.

Down the street was the involved casino. It didn´t look extraordinarily remarkable from the outside, but the novice had heard enough tales to possess a different image of it. Rumour had it that gangsters and mobsters from very far and very wide lingered here, discussing and planning dirty business besides participating in game rounds of poker and such. However, since there were only rumours but no sturdy proofs, the police´s hands were tied. They couldn´t do anything against it. Entering in general wasn´t allowed. And if there were exceptions, they were only meant for specific times and days, since the ´VIP-guests´ would be ´disturbed´ and ´bothered´. But the most significant fact was a different one; The members held power, bought with plain money and more money. The police owned neither the one nor the other. At least at the very moment. At the time, many years ago – so the novice had heard – circumstances had been way brighter. The position of power had been owned by the police and government, which had not been as thoroughly corrupt as today, so it is said. About twenty years ago, everything had fallen down like dominoes, one after another. Fatal was, there was still no clarification to this day about what really had happened in the background all those years ago. At least that was the visible and explainable state of affairs. Or, better said, the matter that was accepted resignedly for the last twenty years. Like the way the novice did. He was too young at the time to understand, anyways. Not like the man who he would meet soon.

In the end, he was one of the reasons for the downfall of the city and the whole country. Possibly also for other regions.

The novice stood beneath the protecting glass roof at the bus station. The roof had many cracks and holes and looked overall crumbly. From time to time, a few drops fell from the roof. Still, it was a more desirable alternative than standing unshielded under the open sky.

The clock showed 19:07 pm when a person trudged to the station. The person – like the novice himself – had pulled his hood over his upper face and stowed his hands away in his pockets. A face wasn´t visible. The person was clad in all black, and now visibly, a man.

The stranger bypassed the novice slowly. Just in this tiny moment did the novice hear a whisper of a familiar voice.

"Take the bus and drive around the block. Drop out after the third stop and meet me in the burger place."

 _Sasuke Uchiha._ He really did come.

Before the novice was allowed to nod, the man already had taken several steps forward.

* * *

The burger place was almost deserted if not for the boring looking, heavily made up waitress by the counter and two customers. One of them sat in the front and wore badly ragged clothes. He was probably a beggar the waitress was too disgusted of to throw out. The other one sat in the back and was clad in all black, showing his back to the entrance. He still wore the hood over his head.

The novice bought a coke and went to the black-clad man. The novice didn´t sit in front of him, but on the place behind him. They sat back to back.

"You don´t seem to be as dumb as I thought", came the familiar whisper, but the novice was too shamefaced to take the insult seriously. He couldn´t wait for the moment to leave everything behind after today. Sasuke kept on talking, casually. "You know how to shut your mouth. Good. Hope you watched the block intensely. One swallow means yes, two no." The novice gulped, once. There was a slightly long pause after that. "The building stands between two main roads which are deserted tonight. We´re lucky. At about eight pm the first guests arrive. The real bonzes come later. There will be a full house today, because I was released today. That means discussion of the situation for them."

A long pause.

"They park their fat cars on the parking space behind this place. They walk to the casino with their bodyguards. Same goes for getting back. With suitcases and bags full of money under their arms. Everything clear till now?" A gulping sound.

"Here´s the plan. The first part was to wear black clothes. That´s done." The novice would have shaken his head out of irritation if he hadn´t had to stay undercover. He looked at the bag beside him. _Why did he tell me to bring him clothes, then?_

"Furthermore …"

* * *

A black-shining jeep drove into a parking space. Next to it several of black and silver and extraordinarily expensive-looking cars were gathered together. Four men exited the black jeep. They were the only visible people around. Three of them were tall and well-built and circled a little man. The three tall ones wore black masks and just as black suits. The tinier man shielded his face with a black top hat. Under the head, grey and spikey hair was visible. The eyes of the man were hidden behind round sunglasses. He held a black suitcase in hand, and an umbrella in the other one. He wore a black suit as well.

The group of four men set out to the main road, after checking their surroundings. They left the parking space together, one in the front, the little one in the middle, and the two left in the back. They bypassed a burger place, as they suddenly heard a loud shout from the side.

" _Gato!"_

The little man with grey hair immediately turned his head to the left, the other ones doing the same and building a protecting formation around him. Their guns – which they pulled out of their belt holders – showed in the same direction.

Next to a four-storey building stood a dark person. The person was barely visible, but the voice held a recognizable baritone.

The man who was called Gato snarled and crunched with his teeth, like a wild bulldog. He showed in the direction of the shouting person, the eyes of the other men following his finger.

* * *

 _"…_ _I recognized few faces on your wanted board in the police station, although I sat in jail for twenty years. Your men did a shitty job. Whatever. I´ll recognize someone there, who still has a score open with me. I´ll call and he or she will remember my voice. …"_

* * *

"Sasuke Uchiha!", Gato hissed loudly.

* * *

 _"…_ _We´ll yell at each other. I´ll provoke. Others will hear us. The casino positions a few watchers around the place. But they don´t involve in other´s business, especially not in public places. …"_

* * *

"Thought I start my kill-bill with you! For good old time´s sake!"

"Why are you still standing here?! Get him! Go, _go!_ "

Gato waved about wildly with his arms and shooed two of his men away. "But no shooting! Else cops´ll show up here!" Gato couldn´t afford that. It would damage his reputation in his dangerous company. Especially if he made a scene close to the casino. There was not much of trust among them anyways, he didn´t want to lose the little trust he gained.

The two bodyguards ran after Sasuke, as he made a turn in a side alley. When they entered the alley, the two guards saw a dark person jumping off an about three metre high wire mesh, hurriedly turning and running off.

"How fast is that asshole?!", one of them hissed before they started running. They climbed on the wet mesh with difficulty. They soon arrived at the end of the alley and turned right. One of them slipped, fell, got up and ran off again. The other one didn´t spare him a glance.

On the other end of the alley, a dark figure with jet-black hair and eyes jumped on the ground from above and elegantly landed on his feet, looking after the other men.

* * *

 _"…_ _They´ll run after me. At least two, maximum three. I´ll turn to the side alley next to this burger place and climb up the building a bit. At the end of the alley is a wire mesh. You´ll sit on it and wait. When the guards arrive, you´ll jump off of it and run. Try to get rid of them. Memorize your surroundings before that. …"_

* * *

The novice ran through the street, the two men in black were closely rushing after him. Adrenalin was the only thing the novice could feel and breath at that moment, as if it was his life tonic.

* * *

 _"…_ _They´ll mistake you for me. Because of our black clothes. Also, because the sight is bad today thanks to the weather. …"_

* * *

A lightning struck the ground right between the novice and his followers so that the street was illuminated in an instant. The novice used this and hurriedly turned into another side alley.

 _Heh. The weather´s on my side tonight._

The followers were too blinded to see anything or to run so they stopped for a moment. When they lost sight of the novice, they cursed loudly.

"You run back! I´ll deal with him!"

* * *

 _"…_ _I´ll take care of the boss in the meantime. He´ll have one or more guards around him. They won´t be able to walk to the casino, because they wouldn´t be let in. Otherwise they would leave tracks for the police. The casino won´t risk that. Thus, they´ll go back to their car. It´s where I´ll wait for them. I´ll take the boss and car with me and pick you up on Sugiyama-street. …"_

* * *

Gato and his bodyguard hurriedly rushed towards the parking space. Their steps were hasty and thoughtless. They looked around a few times, while Gato hissed and mumbled.

"That bastard! They should´ve locked him up forever! Torturing him until the Grim Reaper would´ve paid him a visit! No one would´ve cared! NO ONE!"

The men hurried forward.

"Everyone agreed at that time! Everyone! They just had to send him there, he would´ve finished him off! But no! NO! _HE_ ruined all our plans! It was _always_ him!"

They arrived to stand behind the jeep´s trunk. Gato was looking for car keys in his pockets as he suddenly lost his touch on the suitcase in his hand and heard a loud thump and splash behind him. He looked down on his hand when he felt cold metal poking his neck. He gasped and let his umbrella fall to the ground. Out of exterior angle did Gato see his bodyguard lying in a puddle. His head was tilted to the side in an unnatural angle. His neck was obviously broken and the puddle beneath him was soaked in red liquid.

"Hands on your back."

Gato swallowed down his spit and did as he was told. Sasuke attached handcuffs on him.

"Where are the key-"

A shout.

"Boss!"

* * *

The novice panted his last breaths out of his lungs as he stepped onto the sixth side alley since the wild chase began. While doing so, he sensed a strange and strong smell of peppermint, but he assumed it being desperate imagination. Roaring of heavy rain and pounding of strucking lightnings were the only things he was able to listen to, except his wildly radiating pulse in his ears. Barely noticing his last, heavy steps, he came to a stop on another main road. The wind accelerated in the meanwhile, constantly changing directions, not sure which one to be the right one. Around the novice a labyrinth of puddles grew bigger with the rain, which reflected the lights of street lanterns around. Like spotlights shining from beyond.

The novice panted and choked and coughed, with his hands on his knees and back bent as if weighing a large stone on it. His chest and shoulders heaved in ragged rhythms. His clothes were out of order and stuck tightly to his wet and soaked skin, the hoodie fallen back already. The novice has never felt as miserable as in this situation his entire life.

Still. He held no sorts of fear.

"There … you are … you asshole …"

His follower obviously caught up with the novice. He panted just the same, but not as intense.

 _That´s it with the chasing game, I guess …_

* * *

Just before Sasuke could turn around, Gato´s guard jumped on Sasuke´s back and clenched said man´s wrists. Sasuke collided with the jeep´s trunk, the weight of his attacker being an additional burden. Gato took the opportunity, jumping away. He tried to kick at Sasuke, since his hands were held by handcuffs. But in all the wild pandemonium there was no clear way to see where or what he really kicked. Only the wiggling of the car and its dents were remnants of the chaos.

Sasuke tried hard to escape the grip and weight of the guard by wiggling with his body. Clenching his teeth, he struck the guard´s face with the back of his head. The guard cried out loud to a harsh cracking sound, but still didn´t let lose of Sasuke. Instead, he raised his right leg and stomped on Sasuke´s hand that held a gun. Sasuke´s grip on the gun dropped reluctantly after he let out a few cringed grunts. The guard pressed the gun beneath his foot before kicking it away. Just in that moment did Sasuke hit the other leg of the guard, thus letting him fall on his back. In the very short meantime, Sasuke escaped the grip and turned around. The guard hurriedly rolled away when he saw Sasuke´s foot thrashing down on his head. It landed with a splash in a blooded puddle.

The guard rose on his feet, standing about two metres away from Sasuke, and held his bleeding nose. Gato attempted to unsuccessfully free his hands from the cuffs, hiding behind a car far away from the fight. He observed the scene.

" _I´ll kill you!_ ", the guard yelled.

Sasuke grunted, amused.

 _Well, many have tried …_

* * *

The novice and his follower stood face to face, a few metres in between them. Their breathing had steadied.

"Sasuke Uchiha, huh? I´ve heard a lot about you."

The novice grinned, amused. "You did?

"Thought you´d look older."

The novice didn´t believe what he just heard.

 _How dumb is this guy?_

"But that´s not important. My boss is waiting."

The guard pulled out his gun, the novice reflexively doing the same. It was just that the gun wasn´t there.

 _Damnit!_ , he thought. _The Uchiha has my gun!_

* * *

 _„…_ _Also, I need your gun. I´ll have to threaten the guy with something, so he´ll do as I say. …"_

* * *

 _Think! Think!_

"Hey", the novice said finally. "Thought your boss told you not to draw any attention. Remember, the cops and stuff?"

The guard snorted and cursed. He indeed put his gun away.

 _What a total dumbass. The casino is at least five blocks away from us._

"Then I´ll make you ready for dispatch with my fists instead!"

"Hey, man, wait a sec-"

The novice flew to the left and hit the ground. He spat blood. The raised fist of the guard still lingered in the air as he slowly approached the novice. Said man turned and tried semicrawling, semiwalking away.

"You´re good at running away, but not as good at fighting or what? Loser."

The novice heard the guard loud and clear, and a little spark of anger started burning inside his chest. Still, he went on crawling.

"You´re looking ridiculous. Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

The novice crawled. Slower.

"Loser, really. You ain´t worth the kill."

 _"_ _You´re not worth the kill."_

Sasuke Uchiha said the same to him in the corridor by his jail. He wore him out afterwards, with his words only. Took away all his honour, composure, dignity, away.

Not quite the nicest déjà vu.

And it made the novice _furious._

* * *

 _"_ _I´ll kill you!"_

The guard fumbled with his nose, touching it lightly on different spots and felt the broken places. Sasuke´s head hit it very evilly. Sasuke took the opportunity to take off his jacket, leaving him with a black tank top only. He touched his own right hand and wrist to look for injuries. They weren´t broken, but it was hard to move his fingers, them hurting painfully.

 _Probably sprained_.

With loud cracks and grunts did the guard adjust his nose. Sasuke immediately moved for a fighting position and walked away from the jeep. It was easier to block hits and kicks like this.

The guard moved first. With aimed swings did he try to box Sasuke, who blocked them or hit back. The guard attempted to kick Sasuke´s legs away as well, but said man turned around swiftly and beat the guard´s face with his shoe. The guard flew to the ground.

Said man jumped to his feet and ran towards Sasuke, liftling his fist. Sasuke slightly dodged it. Just an inch closer to him and he would have been hit badly.

Just as Sasuke turned away, did the guard thrash his elbow into Sasuke´s stomach. Sasuke choked out loud, stiffening in a moment of shock. Taking a chance by that, the guard turned around swiftly behind Sasuke and gave him another elbow-trash on his back.

Sasuke fell on his knees and hands, chocking and coughing blood, sweat and spit to the ground.

 _Shit_ , he thought. _Must´ve rusted in jail._

* * *

 _Rage._

"Not worth the kill, huh", the novice whispered to himself.

The guard stopped in his tracks.

"What did ya say?"

The novice straightened up. Very slowly. His whole body was on fire. He turned his head just as slow, to look at the guard from the side, all the while grinning like a lunatic.

"I said", he said.

And stopped.

Suddenly his face cracked into an expression of fear, his mouth opened widely.

"Damnit! The cops are coming!", he shouted.

The guard immediately breathed in hard and turned around swiftly.

"Where?!"

* * *

Sasuke spat on the ground and turned to lay on his back. At the same time, the guard jumped on him. Both aimed for the other´s throat with both their hands.

 _The novice tackled the guard from behind and fell to the ground with him. The guard´s chin hit the ground, since he reflexively raised his head._

Sasuke let go of the guard´s throat with one hand and boxed his nose with all the strength he could master. The guard jumped back himself and held onto his nose, screaming and cursing.

"Damnit", Gato yelled.

 _The guard panted and grunted and tried to grip the novice, who sat on his back. Said man grabbed the guard´s hair and rammed his head aimlessly against the ground. The guard fought against the crawling unconsciousness in his head and grunted, choked, coughed._

Sasuke kicked the guard´s head, who fell to the ground afterwards. He laid exactly next to his dead colleague.

 _The novice rammed the guard´s head against the ground, over and over again. He never noticed that he himself cried out loud together with the guard by doing so. The guard´s movements slowed down before coming to a stop. The novice stood up and kicked the guard´s head several times._

Sasuke stood up, walking to his still living enemy. He raised his leg right above the guard´s head, held it there for a second to gather all his strength and stomped with full force on the man´s neck with a too innocently blank expression.

It cracked.

 _The novice kept on kicking until the guard´s face was soaked In his own blood before stopping. His last kicks were weak and unsteady. The novice took a few steps back, with failed breathing, and slipped. He fell on his butt, immediately pushing himself backwards with his feet again, sliding on the ground. While doing so, he pulled red lines in the puddles with him._

 _Blood._

Dead.

 _Dead._

Sasuke averted his eyes into Gato´s direction, looking painfully furious. Gato himself looked away with pale and cold sweat on his face.

 _"_ _Dead", the novice murmured. His voice quivered heavily._

„Dead", Sasuke murmured. His voice grunted lightly.

* * *

A black jeep parked in a thick forest. It was clear that the storm had stilled a little, although the sky couldn´t be seen through the thickness of colourful treetops of early autumn. Colourful, yes, but not in the darkness of night.

Three men stood, and three man lied on the ground. One of the standing, however, was bound to a tree.

"Let me go!", Gato shouted. "There are dozens of others behind me who´ll kill you either way!" Gato´s face had blue and violet bulges already. Also, he wore neither hat nor glasses anymore.

"Shut up, Gato. You´re only a little shit in your business", Sasuke said. "Tell me. What do you know about him?"

"Who do you dare to call shit?!"

"You, obviously. Now answer me."

Gato fletched his teeth, but didn´t intend to talk. Sasuke crossed his arms.

"If you don´t talk now, you´ll do in jail eventually."

"The only things I´ll tell you about him", Gato hissed through blood-red teeth, "is that he´ll make your life hell!"

"Understood. You don´t know anything more than I already know."

Sasuke turned around and dragged two dead guards to a river nearby. He threw the corpses in the water after tying them to several heavy stones. Next, he changed his bloody clothes with the ones the novice brought within his bag. He dressed the third dead guard in the clothes he just wore as well as the coat and green shoes he stuffed in his own bag back in the brothel. Sasuke paid attention to stove his things of value deep into the right pockets of the guards ´new´ clothes. They were his ancient valuables he got from the police station. Lastly, he poured gasoline on the dead body – most of it in the upper areas above the waist – and lit it up before pushing the guard´s old clothes into the river as well. The darkness of the forest was now lighted up not only by moon, lightnings and the headlights of the jeep.

All the while through the process did Gato talk and curse to himself. Sasuke finally attached a long tissue to his mouth to stop his chatter. He had never been a fan of meaningless nagging.

The novice observed everything with a neutral expression.

"I´ve got nothing to do here anymore", Sasuke said and swayed his bag on his shoulder. "Where and when will my train leave?"

The novice gave Sasuke some wet train tickets. Although they were almost soaked through, Sasuke was able to read the information on it. The novice´s blank expression never changed.

"I´ll manage", Sasuke said after looking at the tickets and the novice. "He´s yours." He nodded in Gato´s direction. "It´s best to leave the car here. You should make up a plausible story about how you found him. For the cops and judiciary." Sasuke looked at Gato for a last time. "You should stick to the boy´s story. Maybe even help him with fantasizing about it. It will help you both lots of trouble later. Especially if I´m to be kept out of this story." He paused there. "Or I die in it."

Sasuke turned around and walked off. It was then that the novice spoke up for the first time since they arrived in the forest.

"Was this city always that shitty?"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and tilted his head to the side.

"So … so dirty. Dirty with people like him." The novice gestured in Gato´s direction, who observed the scene in front of him with a wrathful expression. "Do you really fight against them? Against all of …" The novice made a generous gesture. "… this?"

Sasuke hesitated shortly, then talked. "All those years ago, I only fought against the dirt in this city. Now, the whole country is filthy I´m afraid. Even beyond the borders."

The novice looked to the ground. "And what is my role in this whole contest?"

Sasuke grunted, amused. "He who helps me disqualifying the players."

Rubbing his face, the novice chuckled lightly. It sounded constricted. Desperate. Gato grunted angrily, obviously disturbed by Sasuke´s statement.

"I", the novice started again. "I just … I just have killed a man today … Doesn´t it turn me into someone who you should have thrown in the river as well?"

"No", Sasuke objected, immediately. "It turns you into a castrator like me. Today we cut one more evil off this world. There are more to come. I have to thank you for helping, I suppose."

The novice nodded. "Thanks. I … I needed someone to tell me that." He fisted his hands, to keep them from trembling.

"Dozens of people die daily by the hands of cops. But there are hundreds and thousands of people who die by those of criminals. It´s when the circumstances switch the relations, we´ll have to worry about things."

A silent pause.

"On the contrary, you slowly turn into a real cop." The novice attempted to chime in, but Sasuke kept on speaking. "Do you know the other greenhorn? Who works with Buta?"

The novice blinked and thought for a moment. Then nodded. "With the black hair and eyes? Who works with Tenzo as well? With the glasses?"

„Exactly", Sasuke said. „Stick to him. Maybe you´ll grow balls together, one day."

The novice nodded, seriously. "Thank you. For your advices, for opening my eyes, for ... for everything, actually."

Sasuke tilted his head to the front.

"Thank you." He tasted the words in his tongue. "Those are the words I´m fighting for." Silence. "Every single cop fights for."

He walked.

"I owe you one", the novice yelled after him. "One day, if you need some help here in Otogakure, I´ll be here to lend you a hand. My name´s Iwabe Yuino, by the way!"

* * *

The night train for Konoha departed at about three am in the very early morning, the situation being a consequence of the destructive storm that night. Electronic devices and machines needed to be checked de novo, trees fallen on rails had to be removed, pipes were controlled, and a lot of other things were to be done. At least that´s what the personnel of the train station claimed as excuses for the vast delay.

Now, finally, did the train wheels roll.

Sasuke was – to say the truth – tired out. But he didn´t grant himself a break. His time was running, for as little as the moment he stepped one foot out of his jail. Especially now, after all the … _adventures_ he had been through in the last hours. He had kidnapped a drug dealer, killed said man´s guards and set his pseudo-corpse on fire, a dummy as a gift for the police.

Sasuke knew that Gato would love to snitch on him, telling the police everything that had happened. However, he wouldn´t dare to do so. Simply because _Sasuke Uchiha_ participated in the game as well. Every tiniest detail that was related to Sasuke would attract attention, particularly the attention of his so called ´colleagues´. Gato would go bankrupt. So he had to lie about the whole story. Also, Gato would try his best to hold his costs for release as low as possible. That´s why he was going to settle for a less complex fairy tale. Of course, the police would be aware of this. They were possibly going to ask Gato questions about the general criminal underground. That´s what Sasuke explained the novice in the burger place. In doing so, he made sure that the novice didn´t piss off last second.

 _Iwabe, huh._

But of course people would know who was behind it. At least the important people would know.

That was Sasuke´s plan.

There would be rumours about someone finally fighting back. What´s more, there would be rumours about one of the _old fighters_ coming back to life. A feared opponent among the higher criminal bonzes.

They´d be alerted. They´d be forced to walk tiptoed. It didn´t matter _what_ they´d do. It only mattered that they _did_.

They´d become _active_. Which meant, they´d leave tracks and traces. Marks and clues. Something that would help Sasuke in seeking them out.

But not only them. Those old souls that surrendered, resigned the fight against those mobsters, would feel the tailwind slowly pacing around. What´s more, tailwinds, blown by an old acquaintance. They´d get active as well.

A circle would be formed again. One that would constrict the criminal minds by growing vaster and closer.

Old fellows. Companions.

Friends. They were all settled in Konohagakure. At least that had been the case twenty years ago.

With them, the call for the Grim Reaper would grow louder. Stronger. More intense. More powerful. Sasuke would-

Just as he began planning further strategy, did Sasuke sense a strange but strong smell.

 _…_

 _Was it … Mint?_

* * *

 _ **F I N.**_

* * *

 _From within the very depths of my Mind Palace:_

 _I´m very proud of this chapter, because this was my first fighting scene ever written by me. And it went well, I guess._

 _But since your impression is more important as my audience, please tell me in your reviews if you got confused, found it wonderful, very disturbing, or whatever comes to your mind._

 _Also, very great and honest thanks to_ _ **ilovefinn924**_ _and_ _ **Brienna-c**_ _for your reviews on my first chapters! Especially ilovefinn, since you guessed my dear novice to be Boruto or Naruto. Go for it and keep guessing, it really pushes me further to write this story better. But don´t worry, they´ll get their spotlight when the time comes._

 _Also the second, thank you_ _ **thechieftain**_ _for favouriting my story! It means a lot!_

 _Also the third, I´ll edit chapter 1 and 2 if I have the time the next days._

 _Till the next update,_

 _Beat._


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